An old friend of mine requested a playlist for an upcoming 6-hour road trip. He’s got little kids, but they won’t be coming along. Of course I suggested S-Town for one leg of the trip since he hadn’t listened to it yet, but I suggested he mix it up for the ride up there. Here’s the playlist I made him:

WTF Barack Obama Interview: I always throw a WTF into the mix if I’m listening with my husband. My friend is pretty into politics, so I thought a little #tbt to this great interview with Obama would be a good way to start off his trip.

PCHH Favorites of 2017: This is one of my favorite shows, and this rapid-fire best-of-2017 is just full of great suggestions for movies, music, comic books, and TV that stood out for the panelists in 2017. Extra bonus that it’s just the three main panelists with no “fourth chair” so my buddy can get to know the show’s core group.

Why Oh Why: Randy’s Mema Died: This is Randy, the actor who plays the part of the host’s fictional egocentric, manipulative, douchey-but-occasionally-lovable friend. I think this episode perfectly captures the weirdness, performance-art, and social commentary that the Randy episodes are going for.

99% Invisible: El Gordo: This is just such a great story, about the only dude in a Spanish town who didn’t share in a gigantic lottery win.

Reply All Jennicam: I went to high school with this friend, and I am pretty sure we had to do a group project with some research using Alta Vista at some point. So I felt like an Internet 1.0 story would be a good one to throw in. All the Reply All stories that take you back to the late 90’s and early 2000’s are so good, and it’s fun to time travel to that totally different world recent past when the Internet was new.

Fresh Air: Patton Oswalt: I’d suggest this to any friend who’s experienced loss, who’s pulled it together for their kids, or who could use a comedian’s take on Donald Trump. So, that’s everyone. Such a gem, this one, and it will make many friend-playlist-appearances after this one for sure.

How I Built This: Starbucks: You will never walk into a Starbucks and see it the same way after hearing this interview with CEO Howard Schultz.

How I Built This: Air BnB: The story of Joe Gebbia founding Air BnB is fascinating for a few reasons: the failure that came first, the way he finally got an investor’s faith and attention (it’s crazy), and the ways I feel like these guys had to be dudes for a bunch of the things that seem lucky or like inspiration to have gone their way.